Family is the most important thing
The family is a very important thing in everybody’s life – we turn to family for emotional support, safety, care.
The family has also a number of important functions in a society – it helps prepare children to function in the society or make sure there are children at all.
You will know the legal definition of a family and what protection it enjoys under the Constitution of the Republic of Poland.
You will know the sociological definition of a family and understand its functions.
You will understand the difference between traditional and modern families.
You will be able to describe the situation of Polish families nowadays.
The Constitution of the Republic of Poland Chapter I, Article 18Marriage, being a union of a man and a woman, as well as the family, motherhood and parenthood, shall be placed under the protection and care of the Republic of Poland.
Source: The Constitution of the Republic of Poland Chapter I, Article 18.
A family is a basic unit of a society. Members of a family are connected with each other with formal and emotional tiesties (affinity, marriage), have certain rights and obligations towards each other.
Nowadays we rarely come across extended families, where grandparents, parents and children all live together under the same roof. There are much fewer families with many children. ContemporaryContemporary families are small, with two generations only – parents and children. There are more single parents (usually mothers) raising children on their own (20% of children are brought upbrought up by single parents). However, there are also reconstructed families, in which at least one of the parents remarriesremarries. Some of the children find homes and love in adoptive families. Their caretakers are not their biological parents, but legally they are a family. There are approximatelyapproximately 6 million families in Poland, with around 10 million children up to the age of 24.
And what is your family like? Even if you do not all live under the same roof, you are still a family. It is worth remembering about your relatives, and, for example, create your very own family tree. Become an expert on your bloodline! Find out, what a family tree is, and build your own.
Read carefully the definition of a family tree below and fill in the gaps.
siblings, relatives, grandparents, blood ties, spouse, parents, family, in-laws, multigenerational
A .................................. family can be presented in a form of a .................................. tree. There are .................................. in it, that is, all those with whom we are connected by ..................................: .................................., parents, .................................., siblings of .................................., etc., and .................................., that is, all with whom we have legal ties. The .................................. and his family are our in-laws.
In a traditional family the husband supported the family financially, when the wife took care of the children, cooked, and did all the housework. The twentieth‑century world wars have completely overturnedoverturned the well establishedwell established social order. For many reasons, women had to go to work, which speeded up their emancipation – a process of procuringprocuring rights, civil and political rights and liberties in this case in particularin particular. In a modern family, both men and women work, they raise children together, and run the house together. However, in practice, still more of the responsibilities connected with the childcare and housework rests withrests with women.
Do you know what the most important functions of the family are? Do the exercise to find out the answer to that question.
Check how much you know about the functions that the family has.
| reproduction | having children |
| protection | ensuring security for the family members |
| socialization | raising children and preparing them to function in the society |
| cultural function | introduction to culture |
| recreation | providing opportunities for leisure time and relax |
| economic function | fulfilling the material needs of family members |
In your opinion – what values are most important to people? Analyse the diagram presenting a 2008 and 2013 opinion poll about the values people are guided by in life. Later do the exercise.
Look at the research results presented above. Put the values in order - from the values mentioned the most often to those mentioned less often.
- staying healthy
- respect of others
- a life full of adventures and events
- prosperity of the motherland
- the opportunity to participate in democratic socio-political life
- education
- happiness of my family
- a group of friends
- freedom of speech
Listen to the abstract recording to review the material and new vocabulary. Then do the vocabulary exercise. Match the pairs: English and Polish words.
spoczywać na, utrwalony, ugruntowany, ład społeczny, więzi, pokrewieństwo, powinowactwo, ponownie wyjść za mąż/ożenić się, wychowywany, nabywać (prawa)
| ties | |
| affinity | |
| to remarry | |
| brought up | |
| well established | |
| social order | |
| to procure (rights) | |
| to rest with |
Keywords
family; union; motherhood; parenthood; affinityaffinity; marriage; extended, reconstructed, traditional, modern, adoptive family; single parent
Glossary
więzi
pokrewieństwo
ponownie wyjść za mąż/ożenić się
współczesny
wychowywany
w przybliżeniu
wywrócić, przewrócić
utrwalony, ugruntowany
ład społeczny
nabywać (prawa)
w szczególności
spoczywać na